EPIX
Let’s Talk About ‘The Keeper’:
- Jakub calls Loa his daughter and gives her the honor of reading the last page of The Book.
- The world is plunged into darkness just as the posse arrives in Jerusalem’s Lot.
- Rebecca attempts to appeal to her father’s human side, and he gives her some important information.
- Jakub’s acolytes become full-fledged vampires in the darkness.
- George Dennison acts as a decoy so Charles can confront Jakub inside the church.
- Stephen manages to steal The Book to complete the process for himself.
- After the confrontation at Jerusalem’s Lot, the survivors return to Chapelwaite where Charles must make some difficult choices.
Chapelwaite took a few episodes to really get cooking, but once we finally got to the vampire action it really picked up speed and came to a satisfying, if heartbreaking, conclusion. Reading the synopsis of Stephen King’s short story, what was presented on screen is probably unrecognizable from the story … but that’s a good thing, I believe. The story contains no Boone children, so the entire family dynamic is what really drove the story forward, making this one of the better adaptation of a Stephen King work. And turning a short story into a ten-episode series is no easy feat. But they did it.
The action in the finale picks up exactly where the previous episode left off. Jakub is continuing to read from The Book, Charles Boone’s posse arrives in Jerusalem’s Lot, and the sun is nearly eclipsed. For Loa’s efforts in getting The Book to Jakub, he refers to her as his daughter and gives her the honor of reading the last past. In Latin! And then the world goes dark. The special effects here were stunning as the sun is obliterated and full of stars. The cinematography was also stunning. I didn’t think we’d actually get to this point, but we did and they made the most of it.
With the world suddenly dark, the vampires no longer have to shelter inside and that’s not good for the posse, which is quickly surrounded and under attack by the supernatural beings. Charles manages to hit one in the chest with a pick-axe and realizes damaging the heart is an easier way to kill the vampire than a beheading, and he makes sure the others are aware. But they are vastly outnumbered. Rebecca is dragged away by the hair, and as the posse tried to retreat into the woods, they get separated and only a few souls survive, including Charles, George and Able. One man has an unfortunate encounter with Stephen, who stabs the man several times before feeding on him.
Rebecca is dragged to a barn by her father. Knowing the situation is dire, he offers to let her drink from him so she can live. She, instead, tries to appeal to his humanity, reminding him that he started all of this by bringing Jakub to Maine, and now he can set things right for the people of Preacher’s Corner, his wife and his daughter. Does he not feel anything? He bluntly tells her he feels as much as he chooses, which to her signals the vampires aren’t completely soulless. He offers his arm to her one last time, but she refuses and calls him a coward. He tells her he’s content with his choices but he doubts she’ll feel the same about here.
An unfortunate handful of the posse have stumbled upon the gruesome sight of the dead acolytes, Except they don’t stay dead for long, attacking their prey. Charles and George are on their own, hiding out in one of the shacks but George is not long for this world and they both know it, suffering greatly from his earlier stab wound. He gives Charles a crucifix and tells him that he hopes to be reunited with Mary soon. Charles says he hopes he is too. But Charles needs to get into the church to stop Jakub, and the only way that can happen is to draw the vampires away. George runs out to act as a decoy so Charles can accomplish his mission, and ends up joining Mary much sooner than he expected.
Inside the church, it’s just Jakub and Loa. Charles demands The Book, but Jakub says he broke his promise by not bringing him The Book. Charles offers to allow Jakub and his people to live in Jerusalem’s Lot, coexisting in peace, in exchange for The Book. If Jakub refuses, he dies. Jakub tells him they already exist, but hiding in the shadows and feeding like scavengers is no life, so the offer is rejected and he orders Loa to kill her father. As she approaches him, Charles pleads with her to not listen to Jakub. She replies, ‘This is for mother’, and surprises Charles by stabbing the Apple Girl who had snuck up behinds him. That gives Charles the opportunity to attack Jakub but he’s too powerful for Charles. With his hand around Charles’ throat, squeezing the life out of him. Loa attempts to stab Jakub but he grabs her hand and directs the blade toward her father’s face. She drops it and Jakub smacks her away like a rag doll, telling Charles he’s going to bleed him and then he’ll know what it is to be Leviathan. (Whatever that means, but seems to suggest a creature under God’s control, or in this case Jakub as God.) Someone runs into the church and grabs the book — it appears to be Stephen — distracting Jakub long enough for Charles to stab Jakub in the throat with the crucifix. Taken by surprise, Charles gets the upper hand and pushes Jakub backward, jamming his head onto a large nail (or splinter) sticking out of one of the wooden posts. Loa watches in horror as Charles tells Jakub he will really see darkness, and uses an axe to separate the head from the body, the head still on the post as a gruesome trophy. Loa screams at the sight but Charles tells her she must hide and he’ll be back for her. As he runs out of the church, Rebecca calls to him but he does not hear her.
Charles has located Stephen, who is attempting to complete the reading of The Book. Charles begs him to stop, but Stephen says the coming of the darkness was more beautiful than he could have imagines. And now that they’ve both lost so much, and that Charles is now his only remaining family, they should welcome The Worm together. Charles does not feel the same way, and Stephen says he’s a fool. Charles’ father feared The Book, and he was weak just like Charles. Charles smacks The Book out of Stephen’s hands and they fight, but again the vampire is more powerful than the mortal, and as Stephen chokes the life out of Charles he attempts to grab a nearby rock before losing consciousness. Stephen believes he’s won, but Charles was just playing possum and once Stephen released him he was able to grab the rock and hit Stephen in the head. Disoriented, Charles now has the upper hand on Stephen, landing several blows to his face and once Stephen is on the ground, Charles picks up a piece of wood and tells him ‘blood calls blood, cousin’ and stakes him in the heart. Rebecca was a witness, and saw The Book which she picked up and closed, bringing the daylight back.
EPIX
Charles and Rebecca return to the church for Loa, and she cautiously takes his hand but the sunlight burns her. Rebecca closes the door and they try again. Outside, Able, Dr. Guilford, Rebecca and Charles are the only survivors. Charles tells them to leave no trace of this godforsaken place and they light their torches, setting the church on fire. The ground is littered with the bodies of the posse, and the burned corpses of the vampires who were caught off guard when the sunlight returned. They leave Jerusalem’s Lot with Loa covered by a blanket.
Rebecca, Able and the doctor return to the church in Preacher’s Corner to let the people know the vampire scourge is over. Able tells Honor her father is okay and headed back to Chapelwaite. Rebecca tells her mother that the vampire was her father but he’d gone for good now.
At Chapelwaite, Charles and Loa face some hard truths. Loa, who is now the only one who can hold The Book, fears her siblings will be scared of her. Charles says he will convince them that they have nothing to fear from her. But when Honor and Tane return, they aren’t shy about asking why Loa is there. Charles tells them Loa is home now, and with her protecting The Book, that will keep them safe. After Loa overhears her sister say she doesn’t want her here, Loa remarks that they don’t trust her and she goes to her room. Honor tells Charles Loa is right. Charles says Loa is her sister, but Honor says she isn’t anymore. Charles tries to impart to her that Loa is not the one to be frightened of, and Honor asks if there are others out there. Charles believes there are. Honor says they’ll come for The Book and she doesn’t want it or Loa in their house. Charles angrily orders her to tend to the horses and to not say another word.
But there is a much bigger dilemma ahead for Charles, and that is how to protect his family. Loa is the only one who can touch The Book. But he sends Able to town to fetch Dr. Guilford because he has a plan. Charles visits Rebecca in her room, and she wonders where they go from here. Charles tells her that everyone is still in danger as long as The Book exists, but he knows a way out of the situation, not one of his choosing but it’s the only way to keep his children safe. Rebecca seems to know what he’s getting at, and she asks if he worries what will become of his children without him. Of course he does, but he’s more worried what will happen if he doesn’t carry out his plan, his chance to free Honor and Tane from this family curse. Rebecca assures him that she will always watch over them, whether they want her to or not. Charles says they’ve grown to love her, as has he, and Rebecca says this should be the beginning of their story. Charles says that perhaps some day she’ll write a better ending for them.
Able returns with the doctor and they take her inside. In her room, Charles is with her and she refuses to do as he asks. He tells her the book needs to be kept away from those like Jakub, it needs a keeper, someone who will guard it from the world. Loa says she will keep it but he tells her it’s not her responsibility, even though she says the mistake she made was intended to hurt him and she wishes she could take it back. Charles says he should have protected her and his guilt is bottomless. Loa tells him she doesn’t want him to live as she does because it’s terrible in the dark, but he tells her that The Book will be a plague upon her sister and brother until one way or another it takes their lives. Loa asks her father to take her with him but he says she’s safer at Chapelwaite. No one will know of her, it’s the only way to keep them all safe. Then … he cuts her wrist and drinks. Loa says she forgives him, and Charles says he loves her and has never not loved her. Then he lays his head in her lap to give her access to his neck. She drinks from her father and he fades away.
Loa exits the room as the others watch but she makes no eye contact with them. Rebecca goes into the room and kneels beside the bed, weeping over his lifeless body. Dr. Guilford enters and tells her to go because he is about to do something she should not see. After she leaves, he cuts Charles’ shirt open and places The Book upon his chest. Outside, Able is digging a grave and Honor tells him it’s deep enough. It just has to appear as if they’ve buried her father. Loa overhears her siblings talking. Tane wants to go back to their home on Nuke Hiva but Honor says it isn’t that simple as they have opportunities here with a home and a business. Honor asks Rebecca what she will do, and Tane asks if she’ll stay with them. She says she will, for a time if they’d like … or until they can no longer stand her. Honor says Rebecca is their family now. Dr. Guilford enters and gives Honor Charles’ death certificate — heart failure is the official cause of death. He assures them that Charles’ secret dies with him. Charles awakens, transformed, his torso showing a gruesome stitch down the middle, The Book now sewn up inside of his chest. He rises and looks in the mirror but there is no reflection.
Honor asks Rebecca how they can trust Loa after she betrayed them all, and Rebecca tells of how she spoke to one of them, far worse, at Jerusalem’s Lot asking if there was any man left inside of him. Rebecca is able to tell Honor what her father told her — Loa can choose to feel as much or as little as she wants, and she is choosing her family. Rebecca hopes they will find it within themselves to love her as they once did. Loa lost everything when she did what she did, and that was more than any of them could take from her. They hear footsteps approaching. It’s Charles. Everyone gathers at the foot of the stairs, Able says he will take his leave but it’s been a privilege to work with him. Charles says the privilege has been his, telling Able he’s a good man. Rebecca escorts him out.
Now Charles is alone with his children, telling them that saying goodbye is the hardest thing he’s ever had to do. He implores them to take care of one another, be kind, compassionate, and if life separates them to always find a way back to each other, never letting distance or words come between them. He tells Tane to leave an indelible mark on this world, and he tells Honor how proud her mother would have been. She hugs him and he asks that she watch over her sister. Then they all walk to the beach with Rebecca as Charles walks toward a small sailboat. Tane says he’ll see his father again, out there and Charles says he will be looking for him. Charles gets in the boat and starts rowing out to sea. Loa gets closer to the water shouting, ‘I love you’ to her father.
As they watch Charles row away, Rebecca’s voice over says she watched the only man she’d ever loved be reclaimed by the sea, the sullen white surf washing him back to where he belonged, leaving no trail nor care for all they’d lost. She says Charles’ absence is as raw in that present as she’s speaking as it was that ill-fated night when he left, but she finds comfort in the presence of his children. In the end, it was love that vanquished evil, and good grew like seedling from the ash.
The episode concluded with just the sound of the ocean over the end credits, no music. It was certainly a bittersweet but satisfying end to the story, but I’m curious to know how or if this is intended to connect to Salem’s Lot, or if it is just a stand-alone story. As it stands, Chapelwaite ended up being a very entertaining ten hours.
What did you think of the finale? Tell us in the comments section below!
All ten episodes of Chapelwaite are available on EPIX Now. Subscribe through Apple TV channels using our Apple TV Plus affiliate link.
Share this post
